618 THE SWORD-SHRIMP. 



making them fit inhabitants of the drawing-room or the conservatory. One species, 

 WHITE'S yEsop PRAWN (Hippolyte Whitei), is an especially beautiful creature, being 

 green with a white streak running along the back, and having a number of azure specks 

 scattered over the body. Even the large EDIBLE PRAWN (Palcemon serratus) is a beauti- 

 ful inhabitant of an aquarium. No one who has only seen Prawns on the table, red, 

 opaque, and with their tails folded under them, can form the least conception of their 

 wonderful beauty while living. As they swim gracefully through the water, the 

 light passes through their translucent bodies and their beautifully streaked integu- 

 ments, rich with transparent browns, pinks, and grays of various depths. Their deli- 

 cate and slender limbs are ringed with orange and purple, and stained with pale 

 blue. 



At night, when a lamp is brought into the room, the effect produced by the Prawn is 

 really surprising. The large globular eyes glow as if illuminated by some powerful light 

 within ; and as the creature comes out of the darkness its eyes alone are visible, as they 

 shine like two globes of living fire. 



It is very interesting to watch the habits of this beautiful creature. It is extremely 

 voracious, and seems always to be ready for food. I used to feed my own Prawns wtih 

 the bodies of shrimps, hermit-crabs, and other marine Crustacea that had died in the 

 aquaria. All that was needful was to drop the dead animal into the water so that 

 it should pass the spot where the Prawn had made its home. As soon as it approached, 

 the Prawn used to dart out like a tiger from its den, its long antennae waving in great 

 excitement, and its forceps open and extended so as to be in readiness. The claws 

 appear to be very feeble, but they are stronger than they seem, and are perfectly adequate 

 to the task which they are called upon to perform. The creature would quickly grasp 

 its prey with one claw, carry it off to its home, and there leisurely pick it to pieces, 

 displaying considerable discrimination in choosing the most delicate morsels, and 

 abandoning the remainder to its smaller companions who still lived in the same tank, 

 and preserved their lives by hiding themselves in little nooks and crevices, wherein they 

 were safe from their giant kinsman. The air of utter contempt with which the Prawn 

 would twist off and fling aside the legs and antennae of a shrimp or a hermit-crab was 

 very amusing. Its greatest dainty, for which it would leave almost every other kind of 

 food, was the soft abdomen of the hermit-crab. 



The forceps employed for this purpose are those at the extremity of the second pair 

 of feet, those of the first pair being used for a different purpose. Mr. Gossehas given 

 the following account of those limbs and their use. After mentioning that they are cov- 

 ered with hairs set at right angles to the limbs, like the bristles of a bottle brush, he pro- 

 ceeds as follows : " These are the Prawn's washing brushes, especially applied to the 

 cleansing of the under surface of the thorax and abdomen. When engaged in this opera- 

 tion, the animal commonly throws in the tail under the body, in that manner which we see 

 assumed in the finest specimens that are brought to table, which is not, however, the or- 

 dinary position of life, the body being nearly straight. Then he brings his fore-feet to 

 bear on the belly, thrusting the bottle brushes to and fro into every angle and hollow 

 with zealous industry, withdrawing them now and then, and clearing them of dirt by 

 passing them between the foot-jaws. 



The reason of the inbending of the tail is manifest. The brushes could not else reach 

 the hinder joints of the body, and still less the swimming-plates, but by this means every 

 part is brought within easy reach. Sometimes the brushes are inserted between the 

 edge of the carapace and the body, and are thrust to and fro, penetratingto an astonish- 

 ing distance, as may be distinctly seen through the transparent integument. Ever and 

 anon the tiny forceps of the hand are employed to seize and pull off any fragment of 

 extraneous matter which clings to the skin too firmly to be removed by brushing ; it is 

 plucked off and thrown away clear of the body and limbs. The long antennas and all 

 the other limbs are cleaned by means of the foot-jaws principally." 



THE larger figure in the preceding illustration represents the SWORD-SHRIMP, a native 

 of Japan, belonging to another family, termed the Penaeidae. All these creatures have a 

 very long and much compressed abdomen, and the beak very small or absent. Very 



